Cosmic Castaway
by LunarLotus123
Summary: Ralenn is a human raised into the family of Dalenn of the Grey Council. She was born during the war and adopted by the Grey Council member, in hopes that she could bridge the gap between humans and Minbari to avoid another war. Upon meeting the Centauri ambassador though, Ralenn's life may get turned around.
1. Chapter 1

"Satai Delenn, I do no think I am ready for this yet."

"Ralenn, I believe you are ready for this. You have been trained for this your entire life," the Minbari ambassador said to her human ward, a look of confidence and trust in her eyes.

"Satai," Ralenn said, pushing a strand of her black hair behind her ear, "If you believe that I am ready, I would not go against your wishes."

Delenn smiled and stood up, walking over to the human girl, "Ralenn, you are ready. And please, do not refer to me by my Grey Council title. You are to only refer to me as Ambassador or Delenn."

Ralenn was a rather interesting human girl, she had been born during the final days of the Earth Minbari war and taken in by Delenn of the Grey Council as she was thought to be a bridge between the Minbari and Human's after the war. She stood at just over five foot four, had shoulder length black hair, ivory skin silvery blue eyes, and wore the typical clothes of the lower religious caste that had been given to her by Satai Delenn.

"Of course Sa...Ambassador Delenn," Ralenn said averting her gaze to the floor before feeling the ambassador gently take her chin in her hand.

"Do not avert your gaze. Ralenn, you may be of torrbari but you are also of minbari. You are an Ier'sa Elleya. Ralenn, do not begin to doubt yourself," Delenn said smiling kindly at her ward as the ships captain announced that they would be arriving at Babylon five soon.

"Commander Sinclair, the Minbari transport is requesting permission to dock."

An older man, wearing a semi-formal uniform looked to the comm's man and nodded, "Permission granted. Ivanava, come with me."

"Yes sir," a brunette woman said following the commander as they began walking.

"So, this is the Minbari ambassador sir?" Ivanava asked as they walked.  
"Yes, though, she has a companion with her," Sinclair explained rounding a corner, "The files didn't name specifics, but I was informed it would be a little bit of a shock."

"The Minbari? Shocking?" Ivanava said with a scoff, "That'll be the day."

"Ambassador Delenn," Ralenn said as they stood at the doors of the transport,

"Are you sure the commander will be alright with my attending you?"

"Whether he is alright with it or not doesn't matter. You are my companion and my ward. Be confident," the ambassador said before the door opened and they began to dissembark.

Ralenn nodded and followed, making sure to keep her gaze up to avoid a lecture from Delenn again.

"Ambassador Delenn, I am Commander Sinclair. This is Lieutenant Commander Ivanava. We wanted to personally welcome you to Babylon 5," the commander said as he smiled and greeted the Minbari Ambassador.

"Thank you commander. I am Delenn and this is my attache, Ralenn," the ambassador said bowing her head slightly before motioning to Ralenn standing slightly behind her.

"It is a pleasure to meet you commander," the dark haired woman said bowing respectfully before looking at his LT., "And you as well."

Ivanava looked from Delenn to Ralenn and smiled, "Right, sorry. It's a pleasure. "

Ralenn looked to Delenn before casting her eyes forward, not saying anything.

"Ralenn," Delenn said turning to her traveling companion, "Why don't you accompan Ivanava to your quarters? I would like to speak with Sinclair."

"Yes Ambassador," Ralenn said before following Ivanava from the docking bay.

"So you're human?" Ivanava asked as they walked, "But you've got a Minbari name?"

"I was born during the war, my mother died during child birth," Ralenn explained quietly, "The Ambassador took me in and raised me as a religious caste."

"Ah, and how old are you, if you don't mind me asking."

"Sixteen Sal'sataia ," Ralenn replied as they entered the lift, "I was six when the war between our people ended."

Ivanava wanted to say something, but opted for silence as they waited for the lift.

* * *

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

"Commander," Delenn said as she watched Sinclair carefully, "About my companion. She has never been around other humans, her mannerisms may or may not cause issues with the other humans. It may be difficult for her to adjust."

"I understand Ambassador. If you'd like I can have my head of security help her out when she isn't working with you. It would give her a chance to adjust," Sinclair explained with a smile.

"That would be very much appreciated Commander. Once she and I have settled in I may take you up on that offer," Delenn replied as they walked to her quarters, "Our knowledge of Earth and the humans is...limited."

"Well, we will do our best to make accomodations," Sinclair replied stopping in front of her quarters, "Here you go. If there is anything you need, don't be afraid to ask."

"Thank you commander," Delenn replied efore entering her quarters.

"This is where you'll be living. It has everything you'll need. Shower, food, bed," Ivanova said as she opened the door and lead Ralenn inside, "The comms are pretty simple to use. Simply enter your code then state whome you are trying to get in contact with."

"Thank you," Ralenn said with a smile as she looked around, "You are a very kind person Ivanova."

Ivanova chuckled and shook her head a bit, "That's very nice of you. I doubt those in C&C would agree with you."

Ralenn simply nodded before turning to look at the room once more.

"I will leave you to your business. Let me know if you need anything," the LT. Commander said before leaving the room.

Once alone, Ralenn sat down on one of the cushions against the wall and folded her hands in her lap.

_This is so strange,_ she thought as she stared at her folded hands. _I don't know how I sh-_

Beep beep beep!

Snapping out of her daze, Ralenn stood up, adjusted her robes and walked over to the door, "Enter."

The door opened and Delenn stood there, smiling as usual, "Ralenn, I wanted to come see how you were adjusting."

"Sa...Ambassador, please come in," she said stepping aside and bowing her head slightly.

Delenn smiled as Ralenn stopped herself, "You will adjust to not using my title. It will just take time. Your quarters are nice."

"Thank you sal'sataia," Ralenn said with a smile, as she closed the door.

"Please, do not call me that. Simply ambassador will suffice," Delenn said sternly yet caringly, "There is something else I wished to discuss with you as well."

Ralenn smiled and held her hand out to the cushions laying around a table, "Please, sit."

The ambassador nodded and sat down at the table, "It concerns your time here."

"Oh?" the dark haired girl asked sitting down beside Delenn, "What is it ambassador?"

"It occurs to me that you have not spent time amongst your people. The commander has offered to have his chief of security slowly introduce you to human customs and such."

Hearing this, Rallen paused a moment, her eyes reflecting the confusion, "A-Ambassador...may I confide in you?"

"But of course felisil, you can tell me anything."

"You say my people...but they are NOT my people. I am of minbari, not torrbari. I do not think it will-"

"Stop Ralenn," Dalenn interjected quickly, "It is not wise for you to be so hasty in your judgments."

"I am sorry ambassador...I was out of line..."

"No, you were right to be concerned, but I believe that if you see this through, you will grow a better sense of understanding for the humans and perhaps even begin to see your humanity as more of a blessing than a burden," Delenn explained gently placing a hand on her wards cheek, "Ralenn, please, do this for me if not for yourself."

"Of course Delenn...I am sorry. I allowed my emotions to cloud my judgement."

"They did not cloud your judgement. The fact that you are so in tuoch with your emotions is a good sign. It means that you are spiritually aware of what is going on around you. I will take my leave for now. If you'd like, I could come by later this evening for duma ath'anla mir."

Ralenn smiled and stood as Delenn started towards the door, "I would like that very much. Until tonight, ambassador."

As Dalenn left, the dark haired woman folded her hands in front of her, her thumbs forming a triangle as she bowed her head and the door closed.

Once she was alone again, Ralenn began exploring her quarters once more.

The room was fairly simple, four cushions were lined against the west wall facing the door, a small table, no higher than her shins was placed in the center of the room, a few candles and other religious items from Minbar were placed sparsely around the room while the bedroom was mostly empty except for a handful of candles, a light purple throw rug and a bed set at an angle.

"Gods guide me..." she muttered picking up a small bag from the main room and setting it on the small coffee table, her face was painted with a mixture of excitement and worry.

"Commander, don't misunderstand me, I wouldn't mind helping this woman out, but I've got other duties as well," Garibaldi explained putting his hands in his pockets, "I'm not sure I can take time away from work to introduce her to our culture."

"Michael, I wouldn't ask this of you if I didn't think you could handle it. Besides," Sinclair explained with a smile, "I'm asking you as a friend. Ralenn could become a stronger bridge between the Minbari and Earth."

Garibaldi pause and ran a hand through his thinning hair, "Alright. I'll pay her a visit after my shift is over. I can't promise things won't get akward though..."

Beepbeepbeep

Ralenn stood from her table where she had been praying and walked over to the door, "Enter."

As the door opened, Ralenn was a bit surprised to see a middle aged man with a receding hairline standing there.

"Ralenn? I'm Michael Garibaldi. I think the Commander explained to Ambassador Delenn that I'd be, well, for lack of better words, helping you learn the ropes around here," the head of security said as he stepped in, a slightly awkward smile dancing across his lips.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," Ralenn said bowing before feeling the security officer's hand on her shoulder.

"You don't gotta bow. I'm not like that," Michael said with a sigh, "Anyway, I'm off duty, would you care to take a walk with me?"

"I did not mean to offend," the dark haired woman replied looking a bit surprised before pausing a moment, "Um...yes. I would like to."

As Michael smiled and led her from her quarters, one thought kept running through his mind, This is gonna take some SERIOUS work.

"This is our merchants quarter. You can find just about anything here from Earth artwork to Centauri idols," Garibaldi explained walking beside the confused girl, "You with me so far?"

"I believe so..." Ralenn commented looking around warily as they walked, "So...is it normal for it to be this crowded?"

"Yeah," Michael muttered as they pushed past a few arguing Narn, "We've tried keeping the paths clear but it just seems to make matters worse."

"Hey!"

Ralenn paused and turned as a man called out to her, "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, what the hell is a human doing wearing minbari rags?" a rather burly irate looking man demanded walking over to her, a couple of thugs following him closely.

"Hey, back off," Garibaldi muttered placing a hand on the man's shoulder.

"Stay outta this pal," one of the thugs snapped pushing his hand away.

"You didn't answer my question," the leader snapped gently pushing Ralenn back a bit.

"And why am I obligated to answer a question asked by a complete stranger in such a rude tone?" Ralenn replied clenching her fists gently.

"You must one of those damned minbari sympathizers," he snapped going to take a swing.

Garibaldi swore under his breath and grabbed his wrist, "You see, I wouldn't do that if I were you."

One of the thugs decided to try and strike while Michael was distracted and swung a wrench at Ralenn.

The minbari ward quickly took a defensive stance and knocked the wrench from his hand before knocking him to the ground and rendering him unconcious.

The leader pulled away from the head of security and turned to run only to be grabbed by a couple of security guards and dragged away.

"You alright?"

Ralenn straightened her sleeves and smiled, "Yes, thank you."

"Where'd you learn to fight like that?"

"It is a style used strictly by the religious caste. It is meant to disable without mortaly wounding the assailant," she explained calmly.

"Huh...remind me never to get on a minbari's bad side," Garibaldi replied before realizing what he had just said, "I mean...that is..."

"It is alright. I am not offended," Ralenn replied quietly as they started walking again.

"So," Garibaldi muttered leading her to Hydroponics, "What's Minbar like?"

"It is peaceful. There are three castes, the Warrior Caste, the Religious Caste, and the Worker Caste. Each caste serves there purpose, and do their best to avoid fighting one another," Ralenn replied stopping in front of a stand, her eyes drifting to a certain item, "What is this?"

Garibaldi saw her pick it up and smiled, "It's a snow globe. You shake it and small white flakes float around in the water."

The young woman stared in wonder at it, she had never seen anything like this on Minbar, "It's...intriguing...what is it's purpose? Do you humans use it for prayer?"

"No," Garibaldi said with a chuckle taking it from her hands, "It's more of a keepsake. They sell them on Earth so people can remember places they visit. Like this one, it's from the White House, the president's residence so to speak."

"I see," Ralenn murmured turning from Garibaldi and looking around at the people and her general surroundings.

"You ready to move on?" Michael asked stepping towards Ralenn, his hand outstretched slightly.

Ralenn nodded and started following him when she ran into a rather tall figure and fell to the floor with a light thud.

"Why don't you keep your eyes open?"

"I am so sorry sir," Ralenn replied, quickly standing up and bowing apologetically, "I did not mean to run into you."

Much to her surprise, the man she had run into was a rather tall Centauri man, he hair flared up and his clothes rather extravegant, typical of a Centauri official.

"Lando, come on. It's crowded," Garibaldi interjected placing a hand on the man's shoulder, "Cut the girl some slack."

Ralenn couldn't help but stare at Lando's face a moment, something about him drew her in.

"You know, on Centauri Prime, this is punishable by public lashes or even death," Lando snapped brushing Michael's hand from his shoulder and looking at the woman that had run into him, "Most curious...a human in Minbari clothing..."

"This is Ralenn, she's here with Ambassador Delenn," Garibaldi explained cocking a brow, "Could you drop the attitude for five minutes?"

"It is alright Mr. Garibaldi. I was at fault for not watching where I was going," Ralenn stated bowing respectfully at the Centauri, "Again, apologies."

"Do not worry about it. Accidents happen," Lando replied gently shaking her hand, "I am Ambassador Molari. I am sure we will be seeing much more of each other If you are Delenn's atache."

Garibaldi watched Molari carefully before his communicator beeped, "Garibaldi here."

"Chief, we need help in Brown 13. Got another brawl going on down here, at least eight perps."

"On my way," he replied looking at Ralenn, "Sorry, looks like I'm back on duty. We can continue the tour later. Can you get back to your quarters on your own?"

"I will be fine Mr. Garibaldi, thank you for your help," Ralenn said with a smile, folding her hands in front of her and bowing at him.

Once he left, Ralenn looked to Lando and bowed her head lightly, "It was a pleasure to meet you Ambassador."

"Would you like me to take you back to your quarters? This station is rather big and you could get lost," the ambassador offered with a seemingly kind smile.

Ralenn hesitated a moment, unsure of whether or not to take him up on the offer, at least, until she realized she hadn't paid attention when Garibaldi was showing her around, "I would appreciate it very much..."

"I take it you are staying close to Ambassador Delenn's quarters?"

"Y-Yes," Ralenn replied sounding a bit uncertain, "But, how do you know where the ambassador is staying?"

"I have my ways," Lando said with a slight smile as they walked towards the lift, "So, you are human, yes? 100%?"

"You are not the first to ask me that today," Ralenn stated lettting out a slight sigh, "Biologically I am human, but my spirit and my heart are Minbari. Valain teaches us that no matter the circumstances of our birth, our spirit is what makes us who we truly are."

Lando suppressed an irritated sigh, he never did understand Minbari spirituality, "I see...well, hopefully this will not cause friction amongst the other humans on the station."

Once they stepped into the lift, Ralenn sighed and folded her hands in front of her, "It seems that it is too late for such hope. Mr. Garibaldi had to stop a few disgruntled people that had a rather rude opinion."

"That is unfortunate," Lando muttered sounding truly concerned.

For some reason, Ralenn couldn't tell if he was being sincere or simply acting concerned.

"As unsettling as it was, Valain teaches us that the ignorance of others is not something to dwell on. We can only try to be understanding in their ignorance in hopes that they will open their eyes."

"You seem to be rather...in touch with your spiritual teachings," Lando stated trying to hide his growing irritation, "Delenn must be proud."

"Proud? I do not understand, I simply follow the way of my caste. The Religious Caste has always been devout to their teachings."

The lift came to a stop and Lando stepped out with Ralenn, "Never mind, I was just making an observation."

Ralenn tilted her head a bit as they walked but then proceeded to push it from her mind, "Well, thank you for your help ambassador. These are my quarters."

Lando stopped outside of Ralenn's door and sighed, "Yes, of course. If you require anymore assistance, just ask me. Either I or my assistant Vir will do our best to help you."

Smiling, Ralenn bowed and entered her quarters, immediately kneeling on one of the cushions at the small table.

"In the name of Valain..." she murmured lighting a prayer candle and folding her hands in prayer.

Though she tried to focus on her meditation, her mind kept wandering back to the Centauri ambassador.

_Why do I keep thinking about him?_ Ralenn thought trying to clear her mind again, _Perhaps it's the strange way he wore his hair._

Shaking her head, Ralenn opened her eyes and looked into the candle flame, "Valain help me..."

After finally managing to clear her mind and begin her meditation, Ralenn was pulled out of her calm state by the doorbell.

Sighing, she stood up and walked over to the door, "Enter."

Once again, Delenn was standing there, "Good evening Ralenn."

"Ambassador, please come in," Ralenn replied with a smile and stepping aside.

Delenn nodded and stepped into the room, "How was your first day with Garibaldi?"

Ralenn watched Delenn take a seat at the table and went to the small kitchen area where she picked up a pitcher of water and two glasses, "It was...enlightening."

"Is that so? Please, I would like to hear all of it," Delenn said with an interested smile.

"Well...he introduced me to the Merchant's Quarter. It was rather crowded," she explained kneeling across from Delenn and pouring the water into the two glasses, "There were some...unpleasant men though. They did not seem to approve of my clothes or my heritage."

This caused Delenn to become a bit upset, "Oh?"

"Mr. Garibaldi took care of it," Ralenn quickly added, "His security team took the men in...Oh, I met the Centauri Ambassador. He seems...eccentric to say the least."

Delenn couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at this, "Yes, I met him very breilfy earlier as well. He is definitely eccentric in his mannerisms. He also seems to be very over bearing."

"There's something else..."Ralenn mentioned timidly picking up her water glass, "When I met Ambassador Molari, I felt...strange..."

"Strange?"

"Well, for a brief moment, I felt...flustered. As if I couldn't focus for a second," Ralenn explained before taking a sip of her water and setting it back on the table, "I fear I may be coming down with something."

"It is strange...Perhaps you were just overwhelmed after being exposed to so much of humanity so quickly. Would you like to come to my quarters for prayer?" Delenn offered standing once more.

"Thank you ambassador," Ralenn replied standing up and following the minbari woman to her quarters.

"By the way," Delenn started as they entered her quarters, "My new assistant will be joining us tomorrow."

"Assistant, ambassador?"

"Yes. While you are here as my traveling companion, I will need someone to help me diplomatically with the other worlds."

Ralenn heard this and nodded, "Of course ambassador. I understand."

"Ralenn, are you sure you are alright?"

"Yes ambassador. It is like you said, I was simply overwhelmed with all of my activities today," Ralenn replied sitting across from Delenn as she lit a prayer candle.

Delenn nodded and folded her hands, "Alright. Shall we pray?"

Ralenn simply folded her hands and closed her eyes, her breath synchronizing with Delenn's as they began silently praying.

* * *

To be continued...


End file.
